The Hawk at Road America 2015 – Report and Photos

The Hawk at Road America with Brian Redman was held July 16-19, 2015 at the famed Road America road course in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The 4-mile, 14-turn track welcomed over 400 race cars ranging from the modern day cars that race in some vintage classes to a couple of 84-year-old machines.

The Hawk International Challenge with Brian Redman included 14 feature races to cover the range of entrants. Group Two for Pre-1972 vintage production sedans and selected sports racers had a whopping 63 entries; there were three other groups with over 50 cars.

All the races have unique qualities, from cars in close battle throughout the field in Groups Two and Five, to the delightful charm of the pre-war cars to the thunderous noise of the Can-Am machines in Group One. There are many vintage racing fans that take exception to having the modern cars in these events, but the speed some of these cars generate is thrilling.

Performances that stand out include those by August Grasis, who went out in a rather severe storm in his 1933 Studebaker Indy Special, and Curtis Liposcak, drifting through the turns in his 1933 MG J2. Brian and James French showed up in their 1997 Jordan and Benetton Formula 1 cars that shriek through the track with a sound that makes the hairs on your arms stand up and pay attention. Although the Can-Am field seemed a bit smaller than in previous years, they still put on a thunderous display as they took the green flag to start the race.

An annual tradition for the Hawk is the race car parade from the track to the the town of Elkhart Lake some three miles away. Spectators line Highway 67 to see the cars go by, and then go to town where the cars are displayed for a few hours. Road America also has a go-kart track for spectators to use, and this year they opened a zip-line that seemed to be quite popular.

Turbulent weather visited the track Friday night and Saturday morning. A gust of wind destroyed the awning on Douglas Schumacher’s trailer, and lifted the golf cart parked under the awning onto his Argo formula car. Fortunately, the car’s damage was minor and Douglas was able to race his events. He also discovered the quality of the vintage racing community, as he was flooded with help from fellow competitors. This storm was sandwiched between two sweltering hot days. Fortunately, the heat wave broke for Sunday’s feature races.

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Similar to our 2012, 2013 and 2014 race coverage, photographer David Ferguson also documented the Hawk at Road America Brian Redman 2015. We split up David’s pictures into two galleries. The first gallery starting below features our favorite images, all displayed in the full-width view of Sports Car Digest, while the second gallery and race winners can be found on the last page of the article and gives a comprehensive view of all the photographs.

The Hawk at Road America 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery

Michael Malone, 1965 Lotus 26R

Harry Dinwiddie, 1972 Chevrolet Corvette

David MacNeil, 1981 Porsche 935

Juan Gonzalez entering turn 7 in his 2007 Porsche 997.

Tom Welgarz, 1981 Chevrolet Camaro

Theo Bean’s 1988 Nissan 300 ZX Turbo leads his brother out of turn 6.

Patrick Bean’s 1976 Chevy Dekon Monza

David MacNeil, 1976 Porsche 934/5

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Thanks David enjoyed your photos very much being we could’nt make it this year. Was still healing from cancer surgery, and still very sore. Love the vintage races we’ve attended at Elkhart also Steamboat Springs and Laguna Seca..

About David Ferguson

Dave is a retired school teacher. He was born and raised in Lima, Peru, and is a graduate of the University of Florida. Dave was born with a passion for cars that has never wavered. He has crewed for racing teams and worked for IMSA in the late 1970's. He has been married for 33 years and has one daughter. Dave has lived in Florida, Connecticut, California and currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia. He can be reached at [email protected]